The things you didn’t know! - A very interesting and educational experience. The guide was excellent and hugely knowledgeable. A good way to spend a spare hour.

Fun and educational - The sky above you will be explained to you with enthusiasm. The presenter knows what she is talking about. And the media portrays everything well.

Worth waiting up for - Of our group of 8, 4 of us drew the short straw and had to go at 11pm rather than 7.15. But it was worth the wait as the sky had cleared, the wind had dropped and Saturn had risen. The guides were enthusiastic and knowledgeable the night sky was incredibly beautiful, made clearer by the fact there was no moon.

Under the stars at the Crater Experience - Booked on a whim as we had a nightly stopover at Tekapo on our road trip, and the Dark Sky Project satisfied such a good astronomical experience! We checked out their visitor centre in the village and staff were friendly and also kept us to date about weather conditions (should it be cancelled, there would be alternative plans like their virtual experience or a full refund). We booked for the 8.45pm session and were brought onto a coach with other guests hosted by the driver the friendly Satoshi-san (yes, an English-speaking Japanese guide!). In less than a 5-minutes drive, we reached the crater and were brought around by our guide for the evening, Estella, a budding astronomer who shared her love and passion of the stars and skies with us. Estella's knowledge of the stars were remarkable and all the guests had a hands-on viewing experience of some stars as far as Alpha Centauri via the telescopes at the observatory. Altogether we had a good evening and lucked out with super clear skies and a bright moon that night!

Informative - Informative and helpful. Visually engaging. We had a small group attend so that was good. Loved the information about the Māori past and now they hunted with the stars

Good tour for rainy day - Good way to spend a cloudy day, we went for the 130$NZD family ticket (daytime planetarium experience). Mikey is a good narrator and we were taken into three different rooms that displayed image projections. Leant about Māori creation stories and also how to navigate the night sky.

Astronomy lesson in the winter - Amazing astronomy adventure viewing the southern hemisphere sky! Knowledgeable astronomers and staff with several telescopes.

Disappointed - This was a bit disappointing for the price. Geared more for younger kids - not space literate teenagers and adults. I hoped to learn a bit more about the Dark Sky Project, research etc but it was mostly about Māori astronomy, which was quite interesting, but not sure it was enough to sustain the 45mins at the $180 it cost for our family. .

Starry night - A beautiful night sky and an informative speaker. We did the Crater Experience (just a man made area you stand in to view the night sky) Three telescopes were set up for us to look through. It was freezing but we were offered jackets if required etc. A shuttle bus took us from the centre to the site. The experience lasted about an hour but was marred by people interrupting etc. It needed to be more strongly managed so everyone could listen, see and contribute. It was also very expensive for what it was. I did a similar one in NT which was better value for money.

$50 price tag on a $20 tour - $50 per person was a bit over the top for this half hour experience. You got to watch a video on constellations on the big screen and then moved on to a room about suns, another projection about constellations and the. See the big telescope. While I’m sure out guide was very knowledgeable he was very difficult to understand. Definitely would not recommend for the money.